NRA-ILA Backed Lawsuit Challenges Delaware’s Ban on So-Called “Assault Weapons”

[Charlie T Waite]

On the heels of our Supreme Court victory in NYSRPA v. Bruen, Governor Carney and his allies in the state legislatures decided to further infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Delawareans by signing H.B. 450 into law. NRA-ILA partnered with the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association and others and filed a lawsuit challenging H.B. 450 yesterday.

“[T]he State of Delaware criminalized possession, transportation and sale of common firearms used by law abiding citizens for lawful purposes—mislabeling them as “assault weapons” —making it a felony for law-abiding citizens to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear such arms, the lawsuit alleges. “The State of Delaware mislabels scores of common rifles, common shotguns, common pistols, and ‘copycat’ weapons with a misnomer of ‘assault weapons’—and bans all of them outright.” Not only does the bill fail to address actual criminal conduct, but it places the lives of gun owners and their loved ones in jeopardy by banning commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms.

This is the Fourth time that NRA-ILA has partnered with the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association to challenge unconstitutional laws in Delaware. Back in 2014, we struck a policy that prohibited firearms in public housing. Then in 2017, we successfully struck to regulations that banned possessing firearms in state parks and forests. And in 2020, we struck a ban on hunting with semi-automatic firearms. NRA-ILA is proud to continue partnering with the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association to ensure that the right to keep and bear arms is a reality in the Blue Hen State.

The case is captioned Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association v. Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security.